The output of the UK economy in the three months ending in February was 0.5% higher than in the previous three months, according to a new report from the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR).
This follows a revised figure from the three months ending in January, with the NIESR saying that the main factors behind this slower growth of the economy are that the growth rates of both public and private sector services output seem to have been lower than they were last year.
If this pattern persists, says the NIESR, then the pressure on the Bank of England to raise interest rates again is likely to be lower than it had anticipated a few weeks ago.
| Summary of Quarterly Growth Rates |
| |
Quarterly Growth % Per Quarter |
| |
Industry |
GDP |
| Jan-06 |
0.4% |
0.9% |
| Feb-06 |
0.6% |
0.7% |
| Mar-06 |
0.8% |
0.7% |
| Apr-06 |
0.4% |
0.6% |
| May-06 |
0.4% |
0.8% |
| Jun-06 |
0.1% |
0.7% |
| Jul-06 |
0.3% |
0.8% |
| Aug-06 |
0.0% |
0.6% |
| Sep-06 |
0.2% |
0.7% |
| Oct-06 |
0.0% |
0.6% |
| Nov-06 |
0.1% |
0.7% |
| Dec-06 |
-0.2% |
0.8% |
| Jan-07 |
0.0% |
0.7% |
| Feb-07 |
-0.1% |
0.5% |
| Source: NIESR |
A separate forecast, the NIESR recently predicted that the world economy will continue to expand vigorously, growing by around 5% in 2007 and 4.8% in 2008 (see Global Economy To Expand Vigorously).
Related Links
